Non age recommended toys for toddler birthday

[Sailawaygirl]

So my DC is turning 2 soon and a present has just arrived, we opened it cause it was just in the brown cardboard box but not wrapped inside ( not sure who from as no other card but will be a relative ?on dad's side). And it's a toddler tool kit type thing but all over the box is 3+yrs. We don't stick the that close to toys recommendations if it something that DC is really interested in but we are aware that there could be choking risks so are careful when they play with somethings such as cars and toy animals that are ment to be for a an older toddler.
For his 1st birthday and Xmas we had lots of people buying him things that were 3× as well or clothes 3+ ( and his a small toddler so still in 18-24 clothes.
I'm just mildly annoyed by it! I'm happy to store some things till he can wear them or use them, but we only have a very small house.

Talk me round mumsent. Is this very common or do most relatives get things for the right age. ( hes the only grandchild / baby in family if that makes a difference )

Give him the age appropriate bits from the kit
bin the rest
move on

donate to charity shop
move on

Some people aren’t thoughtful gift buyers or are thoughtful but get it wrong
no need for drama

I got our child a 1st birthday card it has a 3yo plus sticker on it, plain card nothing attached

Parents need to use common sense if our child got something not age appropriate at whatever age we put away till they could use it, it is not hard

@Sailawaygirl

To be fair, I absolutely wouldn't have a problem with my 2yr old receiving a 3yr old+ present - it's much better than something baby'ish that they'll have no interest in. The suggested age is usually to do with the size of the parts in terms of safety etc but toddlers can & will shove pretty much anything they fancy in their mouths anyway - makes no odds if it's part of a toy or not!

People are probably trying to get something that they'll be able to enjoy for as long as possible - if you feel he's not ready yet, just put it away for a while. We used to do this when ours were little & also if we felt they had too many toys on the go or if they weren't particularly interested in something - it then meant we could 'refresh' the toys collection every few months - the kids would be thrilled & then really get the most out of everything.

The only thing that used to really annoy me was people not thinking about the time of year/practicality vs ages of clothing they were buying. For example, our son was a Summer baby & a pretty standard size. We got given lots of older age stuff for him to grow into, which was lovely, but it was all Summer stuff, so by the time it fit him, it was the dead of Winter & vice versa - lots of newborn & 0-3 mths snowsuits/fleecy sleepsuits & woolly jumpers etc. when it was roasting hot, so a lot of gorgeous gifts went virtually un-used.

This happened beyond the initial new baby gift stage, to the point where I had to speak up, as our family were wasting money & we weren't benefitting from their good intentions!

@BusyMum47 yes we had that too, lot of ppl buying next size up but it was winter clothes and he wasn't going to fit till summer! I think I just have some slight residual annoynce from that.
He's going to enjoy the gift and reassured that other mums don't take the age suggested as a rule too!
I definitely don't want to cause any drama.

Really common and I think YABU - sorry!

They grow out of "baby" toys so quickly
I much prefer something that will stretch them.
You get much better value out of it.

Out of season clothing is mildly annoying. I swap for credit or list on vinted

That's a safety warning, not a play appropriateness label. I've seen things labelled 3 or 4+ that would only be if interest to little ones below that age. Just means supervise carefully. They're always going to be overcautious but parents need to use common sense.

My daughter has had very similar to what you're describing from 2 years and loves it.

Yabu